Oh yes, I’m the great pretender Pretending that I’m doing well … I’m lonely but no one can tell … I play the game but to my real shame You left me to dream all alone I was “saved” in a pentecostal church. I say it that way because I had been saved before and... Read More

It almost sounds as if I have lived many life times, but I have only lived one that I know of on this planet earth.  I’ll begin by saying that none of the churches I have attended were exempt from notice of incorrect use of bibical doctrine, and they each had several things in common.  One thing... Read More

When I was in high school (just over 20 years ago), I was pretty religious.  I was a member of a Presbyterian PC(USA) church in Northern NJ.  When I was a high school junior, I was ordained as a deacon in that church.  That same year, I was a YAD (Youth Advisory Delegate) to the... Read More

It’s Sunday morning-very bright  sun streaming through the high windows of a very strict, fundmentalist cult-like demonination’s Sunday School–everybody but us are headed start to Hell, ha, ha, ha! I decided on this particular Sunday as the teacher was talking and the Bible was open that what she saying and what it said were different. So I decided then and... Read More

I was raised Catholic, and attended Catholic schools through grade 12. My mother was Catholic, my father was Lutheran, and to get the priest to marry them Dad had to agree that I would be raised Catholic. He wasn’t particularly religious, so that wasn’t a problem. In the ’60s and ’70s, the Catholic schools where... Read More

I have been pondering for days what to say in this letter. It would be so easy to be angry, bitter, selfish or preachy. Believe me, I have written one version of this letter for each of those attitudes. However, I love the church – or at least the people who comprise it. I can... Read More

I was raised in a Christian family, went to Christian school, and a Christian college. I didn’t have any bad experiences with the church, or with Christians, and I didn’t stop believing because I saw hypocrisy in the church or among the televangelists. My interactions with Christians has been largely positive. The problem is that... Read More

Twenty-five years ago the Schochs began working as paid ministers. Six years ago they quit. Today their daughter Lydia finds out what life outside of the ministry has been like for them. What have you been doing in the six years since closing down your last church? Jim: Enjoying life family friends a lot more... Read More

Dear Church, It’s nice that you want to know why I left you.  I mean, I meet so many of your members who assume they know why I left.  They like to quote things from the Bible like, “[You] went out from us, but [you] did not really belong to us. For if [you] had... Read More

I was born in Zimbabwe and raised in a non-religious household. I went to an Anglican boarding school, and we attended chapel twice a day, every day. But I reckon most of that just washed over me as it it was just a part of school life, like school meals and sports. At age 21... Read More

Lets see… I was raised Roman Catholic. Went to a school with nuns and rulers…was an altar boy. I found out people could be good without knowing Jesus. I found out that there’s a pile of contradictions in the bible. I found that christianity teaches conflicting beliefs. I found out that most of the bible... Read More

I used to be a Christian. I’m now an agnostic atheist. The story of how I got from there to here is a long one. It has a large cast of characters, spans some three decades, and is set in a variety of locations, both exotic and mundane. The plot wanders a bit, but some... Read More